Weighing the massive upside of a Christian education

A star softball player attends a Christian school that doesn’t have a softball team. Is she missing out?

Some parents fear their children won’t get key school experiences without being able to choose from a full slate of extracurriculars and clubs if they attend a private school.

Danny Maggart, principal of St. Joseph Christian School in Missouri, where softball star Lexi McDaniel attends, has another way of seeing it.

“A lot of times people think that you have to give things up to come to a Christian school,” he tells The Lion. “You don’t have to give up anything to come to a Christian school. In fact, what you gain is a biblical worldview in every single class.”

Schools like St. Joseph Christian offer a wide slate of activities and sports. 

“We’ve had students sign scholarships in every single sport we’ve offered (and) for academics, band, choir, all of those things,” says Maggart, who has been at the school for 28 years, the last 19 as an administrator. 

The school’s band room is lined with photos of students that have earned college scholarships since 2017. The final photo asks, “Who’s next?” The band played at New York’s Carnegie Hall last year and will travel to Chicago in April. 

Maggart says an experience a few years ago changed his perspective on whether his students are missing out. 

“A parent here said to me, ‘At other schools there are not more opportunities; there are different opportunities,’” he says. “That’s a profound statement, because no matter what a student would leave here for, if they’re going to a secular school, they might have more opportunities but they’re not going to get a biblical worldview opportunity.” 

McDaniel, who ranked as the top softball recruit in the nation and will attend the softball powerhouse University of Oklahoma next fall, says she has no regrets about attending the Christian school. 

The lack of a softball team enabled her to play travel softball year-round, and she received solid grounding in her faith. 

“The teachers have helped me grow as a leader, but most importantly, they’ve helped me grow as a woman in my faith, and that is super important to me because in the end, no matter with sports, no matter with career, obviously the most important thing in my life is Christ and incorporating him into everything I do,” says McDaniel, who has attended SJCS since kindergarten. 

Maggart says he’s had parents regret pulling their students out of the school but “I have never heard a family ever say I regret sending my student and them graduating from St. Joseph Christian School.” 

Other Christian schools have a similar perspective. 

Mansfield Christian Academy in Ohio challenges parents to take a long-term view when considering Christian education. 

While public school may offer certain cost advantages – although less so as school choice is passed in more states – or conveniences such as bus service, Christian schools have plenty of “different” things to offer. 

Those can include smaller class sizes, a safer environment where students are known and valued, and, of course, the presence of godly influences. 

“When you are able to choose a community that aligns with your beliefs, you know you are choosing an overall positive environment for your child, where your family and cultural dynamics will be supported, not swept aside,” the school’s website says. “When teaming with other parents and teachers who build their lives on the same foundation of faith, you know you are giving your child the best opportunities to learn, grow, and make choices that honor God.” 

Maggart agrees with choosing the eternal over the temporal. 

“Everything in this world is going to fade away, but the one thing we can take with us is our biblical worldview,” he says. “That puts things in perspective and allows us to live a life of peace and joy, knowing what the final outcome is and what our true calling is. 

“I’ve said there are fantastic people in all schools, but I look at Christian education as a complete education because of the biblical immersion.”